BREAKING : The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend Saturday’s funeral for the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev after paying tribute today.
Putin’s decision to pay a private visit to the hospital while staying away from Saturday’s public farewell ceremony combined with uncertainty surrounding the funeral’s status reflect the Kremlin’s divided thinking on the legacy of Gorbachev. The late leader has been lauded in the West by putting an end to the Cold War but reviled by many at home for actions that led to the 1991 Soviet collapse and plunged millions into poverty.
In Wednesday’s telegram of condolences released by the Kremlin, Putin praised Gorbachev as a man who left “an enormous impact on the course of world history.”
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